Now, the Legal War

The feds indict their first 9/11 suspect and are hot on the trail of other alleged al-Qaeda operatives

By Elaine Shannon and Matthew Cooper/Washington Monday, Dec. 24, 2001

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    One of the most compelling pieces of evidence against Moussaoui is his indirect link to Mohamed Atta, the Sept. 11 ringleader. Last summer, according to the indictment, Moussaoui received a bank transfer from Ramzi Binalshibh, one of Atta's comrades from their days in the al-Qaeda cell in Hamburg, Germany. Binalshibh is not under indictment in the U.S.--and is nowhere to be found, having fled Germany--but he was named a co-conspirator in the Moussaoui case and is expected to be charged soon. He is also wanted by the German authorities. Sources tell TIME that the FBI dispatched a team to Cairo last month to try to find him before the Germans do, so the U.S. can have first crack at extraditing him. It's not that the U.S. distrusts the Germans, says a U.S. insider; it's just that getting to him first might help the FBI locate more al-Qaeda cells.

    Like Timothy McVeigh, Moussaoui will avail himself of experienced court-appointed lawyers, including some seasoned in death-penalty cases. Still, says Paul McNulty, the U.S. attorney in charge, the prosecution is "very strong." In this new front of the war, nothing less will do.

    --With reporting by James Carney/Washington and Bruce Crumley/Paris

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